If you clone an OS to another hard drive, do you need the original hard drive in order to boot???

Blanko Ninio

Commendable
Apr 15, 2016
11
0
1,510
I've gotten a lot of mixed answers for this question.

Example:
I have a computer with an HDD 1tb, say I want to clone that and put my OS on another HDD using paragon migrate.

If the original hard drive dies, can my computer still boot without any issues?

My understanding is that the original HDD is married to the motherboard, therefor the OS has to be replaced even though it's mirrored.
 
Solution
Hey there.

If the cloning/migration process is successful, you should be able to use the clone without any issues in order to boot to Windows. You won't need the source drive (the original drive). However it's very likely that you won't be able to boot to Windows with any of those drives (regardless if it's a clone or source) if you connect them to a computer with different hardware (especially if the motherboard is different).

Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any questions whatsoever.
Boogieman_WD
Hey there.

If the cloning/migration process is successful, you should be able to use the clone without any issues in order to boot to Windows. You won't need the source drive (the original drive). However it's very likely that you won't be able to boot to Windows with any of those drives (regardless if it's a clone or source) if you connect them to a computer with different hardware (especially if the motherboard is different).

Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any questions whatsoever.
Boogieman_WD
 
Solution
Cloning should make an exact image in everyway so no you shouldn't need the old HDD. All cloning software isn't made equal so there is always a possiblity. I suggest you try it without the original and see. Now you may have to setup in bios which HD your wanting to boot if one fails or is removed.